Birds of a Feather
by Keynn
Summary: IchiRuki AU - Rukia's got a pigeon in her bedroom (that's not an innuendo) and Ichigo's got a neighbor knocking on his door at two in the morning to deal with a pigeon in her bedroom (and, unfortunately, that's not an innuendo either).
1. Chapter 1

**Birds of a Feather (Flock Together)  
**

 _IchiRuki_

* * *

Ichigo isn't immediately aware that someone is knocking on his door at two in the morning. In fact, immediately, he is trying to cut through a large and sinister looking … thing … with a huge, talking sword, and the thing is opening and closing its mouth, and the noises it is making just happen to sound a lot like someone is knocking on a door.

The noises get louder though, and as they get louder Ichigo starts to think that it doesn't really make sense that this monstrous … monster would have a voice like someone knocking on wood; never mind the talking sword or that Inoue is there for some reason, shooting light from her hair pins. Ichigo blinks.

The monster disappears. Ichigo blinks again.

A neon bar sign across the street fills Ichigo's room with an ambient, bluish glow. He is on the ninth floor of a twelve-story walkup, so the light is dimmed by the distance, but it is enough to see by. Ichigo blinks a couple more times to help him focus and looks up at his ceiling with an unhappy amount of attention.

Ichigo generally comes out of sleep quickly and ready for anything – this is a direct result of growing up under a psychotic father with no sense of personal space – still, he's not sure what's going on now. His father isn't here to cause chaos and nothing is visibly on fire.

Through the maddening silence and stillness three sharp raps on wood echo. There's a pause, and then three more. Ichigo checks the clock, it is nearly 2:30. He debates calling it his imagination and going back to bed, but the curiosity will surely keep him awake … he swings his legs over the side of the bed, ruffling his hair as he goes. He half drags himself, half stumbles, to the front door of his studio apartment. If he hits the couch with his shin as he goes, it's barely registered.

"What…" Ichigo mutters, pulling the door open. He does not instantly see Kuchiki – she is below his direct line of sight – and it takes him a second before he's aware enough to glance down.

Rukia Kuchiki lives one apartment down from Ichigo. He doesn't know her well, he's waved at her at the grocery store across the street a couple of times (half hearted at best attempts, Kuchiki's always in her own world, or she's pointedly pretending not to see him) and once he got into a knockdown, drag out fight with Kuchiki's best friend, Something Abarai. He seemed like a pretty decent guy …

Kuchiki is in front of his door now in a gray flannel shirt and shorts, he hopes; the shirt's too long and he can't see them, but he's praying they're there if for no other reason than to preserve his sanity. Ichigo's been trying to ignore Kuchiki for the better part of a year. She's in a relationship, or is engaged or … something, he thinks. Point is, Ichigo's trying to respect her and the rumors around her love life. Good neighbors stay way the fuck away from the personal lives of other good neighbors. Ichigo frowns at her.

"I need a favor," says Kuchiki, forgoing pleasantries.

"I don't do favors past midnight," says Ichigo, groggy. He considers tacking on something less than wholesome, but has a sneaking suspicion Kuchiki's the type of girl that doesn't mind throwing a punch … and it's too earlier for that. (Ichigo is very confused to discover the thought of Kuchiki being a brawler is somehow attractive to him, and he pushes that thought aside almost as quickly as it surfaces.)

"I'll pay you," Kuchiki bargains.

"I have a job," says Ichigo, he smirks at her, just faintly. She's clearly very much awake, her hair is disheveled but her eyes are plum-colored and clear as glass.

"Ichigo…" Kuchiki bites, her glare is doing things for Ichigo he knows it shouldn't, and it's enough to distract him from the realization that she's apparently taken the time to learn his name. Kuchiki walks around with her head held high and if she notices that anyone exists around her, she doesn't show it. Ichigo is told she comes from a family of considerable wealth and prestige, but he's never verified and, truth be told, he couldn't give two shits to a storm about it.

Ichigo scratches his shoulder absently.

"Fine, but only because I'm a really good neighbor," Ichigo smirks, "what do you need?"

"I'll, uh," Kuchiki's eyes dart toward her apartment and then she points vaguely, "I'll show you," she says. Ichigo nods and extends his hand in the direction of her place.

"Lead the way," he says with a yawn. Rukia patters back to her apartment, opens the door and then steps aside.

"My bedroom," she states. Ichigo raises an eyebrow at her. If he were a teenager, he probably would have blushed. As it stands, he's having a good time of this, even for being stupid early on a Sunday.

"Are you trying to sleep with me, Rukia?"

Rukia kicks him and she kicks him hard. Ichigo's suspicions are confirmed as he rubs his abused shin.

"Fuck, it was just a joke," he mutters.

"Just get in there" Rukia huffs, pushing him toward her room.

"Hey!" Ichigo retorts, "don't forget, I'm doing you a favor," and having said his piece, and watched as she mimicked his words with a hand puppet, Ichigo stalks into her room without further instructions.

It's a pigeon. It's a pigeon that's got Kuchiki riled up. It's sitting on her headboard, looking all … pigeon-y.

Its head twitches as it looks at everything and when it sees Ichigo, their eyes lock like lovers on a battlefield and the intense connection between them is palpable. Ichigo stares long and hard and with great consideration before he cracks.

Rukia can hear him laughing from the living room. Their neighbors have probably been woken up with the sheer volume of it.

Rukia steps tentatively into the room and crosses her arms, looking haughty.

"A pigeon?" Ichigo laughs.

"A sky rat," Rukia responds, she looks repulsed, "I opened up my window before I went to bed and woke up to it making that pigeon noise …"

"What am I supposed to do with a pigeon?" Ichigo asks.

"Nothing, you idiot," says Rukia, "just get rid of it."

Ichigo chuckles and looks around the room for something to help him do the job. Rukia's room, in fact, Rukia's entire apartment is bare to the bone of anything, personal or otherwise. Everything is cold and white and bland which is strange, considering Rukia has something of a fiery personality, from what Ichigo's gathered. There's not much in the way of decoration and there's nothing at all for pigeon wrangling. Ichigo thinks about it for a moment more and then pulls off his shirt. Rukia, beside him, turns scarlet.

"What're you doing?" she says, looking scandalized.

"Catching the pigeon," responds Ichigo, and he winks for good measure. Part of him hopes she looks; part of him can feel her eyes on him when he turns away from her and is pleased with himself for it.

And then he takes the shirt, spreads it out and tiptoes in the direction of the bird. A quick maneuver, much screaming, one embarrassing shriek and a fight with a window latch later and Ichigo throws the bird (and the shirt, unfortunately) out the window and into freedom.

Ichigo and Rukia exchange a pointed look, a silent pact to never discuss the events of the evening to anyone, ever. Not even Something Abarai, Rukia seems to say. Not even my sisters, Ichigo echos. Neither knows who was actually responsible for the shriek, maybe it is better that way. The silence drags. Rukia eyes Ichigo's chest and clears her throat.

"Coffee?" she asks, turning decisively and heading for the kitchen.

"Er, yeah," nods Ichigo. He watches in equal parts mesmerizing awe and sedated curiosity as she stands on tippy toes to reach for a pair of mugs in her cabinet.

She is not wearing shorts.

* * *

 _My stepmom told me this story earlier of how, when she lived in the city, she lived on the sixth floor and this bird flew into her apartment and she had to go ask the neighbor for help because she hates birds and I thought it was hilarious. That said, it is late and this is shit but here you go anyway ... it really just doesn't get much more out of character than this ... sorry!_


	2. Chapter 2

**Birds of a Feather (Flock Together)**

 _IchiRuki_

* * *

Ichigo drank his coffee heavily creamed and with a spoon of sugar. Rukia drank hers black as her hair and never once cringed as she brought it to her lips. They avoid edeyes, Ichigo tried not to look down too frequently, for fear of seeing something he knew she wouldn't want him to; Rukia's eyes rarely landed on him, each time they did, he could tell because her cheeks would develop a pink tinge and her gaze would flicker away to stare, studiously, out the floor-to-ceiling windows of her spacious living room. Her apartment was substantially large than his own and appeared to have a second bedroom, for which the door was closed.

"Do you even like that?" Ichigo asked, finally, pointing with his stirring spoon to her cup. Rukia glanced down at it and raised a brow, confused.

"What do you mean?" she said, taking another sip.

"Black coffee," elaborated Ichigo, "no one drinks it because they like it."

"Well, no," Kuchiki replied, "I drink it because it has caffeine, the taste of it was never something I really considered …" Ichigo chuckled, holding his cup to her.

"Have you ever tried it with anything added?" he asked in offering. Rukia took it with steady fingers, and when they brushed his they were cold as ice.

"My family rarely allows things to be sugar-coated, figuratively or literally," said Rukia, evenly, and took a sip. Ichigo could see her eyes visibly widen, she licked her bottom lip, as if treasuring it, and then the moment was gone and she reigned herself in. She coughed once, pushing the cup across the table back to the orange-haired visitor and said simply,

"It's … pretty good."

"You need to have a real cup of coffee," said Ichigo with a smirk. Rukia crossed her arms, huffed and stuck out her tongue at him.

"They way I take my coffee is fine, too," she said.

"It's bitter," Ichigo retorted. Rukia looked personally offended by the statement, her cheeks red in indignation.

"Yeah, well…You're bitter!" she declared after a moment. They looked at one another for a breath and then Ichigo gave the knowing grin of a person who has won by default and Rukia pretended to ignore it, and him, gazing, like a martyr, at the wall behind his head. For a beat, everything was tranquil. Birds were chirping as the sun rose over the skyscrapers of inner Tokyo, one of which was probably their friend, free of Ichigo's lost shirt. The building rumbled, as it always did, when a train passed underneath of it. Ichigo was exhausted, but content, and Rukia looked as though she'd gotten the best night's sleep which probably meant that she rarely slept at all.

The nob on the front door jiggled quietly, but the lack of sound alerted both Rukia and Ichigo to it. The door opened just as Ichigo stood, ready for an intruder. Rukia stood, too, and bowed deeply. Ichigo was officially lost.

The intruder was a tall man, of a firm stature, and a face like a plate, that is to say flat and unchanging. He said 'good morning, Rukia,' in such a way that it managed to sound both like a command and the highest disapproval a person could verbally bestow on another person.

"Good morning, brother," said Rukia, the fire in her demeanor all but gone. She stood to full height again and offered a small smile which the man - her brother? - did not return.

"Err," said Ichigo, stupidly.

"You may leave," said the man, his words were ice and the look he gave Ichigo could have killed a man. Rukia stepped in, uncomfortable.

"Brother," she said, "this is Ichigo Kurosaki, he lives next door."

"I know who he is," said the block of ice, "I know of all your neighbors. What I do not know is why he is in your living room, without proper clothing, and why you are sitting with him," the man's eyes flashed toward her, then back to Ichigo, "also without proper clothing," he said, finally.

"There was a bird in her room," said Ichigo, annoyed.

"A bird?" said the man.

"A pigeon," Rukia added, helpfully.

"And I got rid of it," said Ichigo, "like a good neighbor,"

"Using his shirt!" Rukia clarified. The man looked unimpressed. Rukia, perhaps to dissolve the tension in the air, perhaps as a belated attempt to restore propriety, said:

"Ichigo, this is my brother-in-law, Byakuya Kuchiki."

Byakuya Kuchiki did not seem to want to be introduced, Ichigo also didn't care much for the introduction.

"Why are you here so early, brother?" asked Rukia, desperate to distract either of them from glaring a hole into the other.

"For our breakfast appointment," said Byakuya, his eyes did not leave Ichigo.

"It's six in the morning," said Ichigo. Rukia shot him a look, a silent promise to kick his ass at a later date, and shuffled around the table.

"I'm surprised you can tell time," said Byakuya.

"Ichigo, why don't you go?" Rukia said, her voice ridiculously sweet. Ichigo raised an eyebrow, gave her a devilish grin, and said, remarkably unhelpful;

"I'm getting to know Byakuya."

Byakuya's mouth twitched in a way that did not even remotely seem healthy.

"I'm going to go put clothes on," said Rukia, giving up and not wanting to bare witness to the shit show that would no doubt take place at any moment. She felt awkwardly positioned in between two warring forces and wanted as little to do with it as possible. On her way to her bedroom she kicked the back of Ichigo's knee and hissed 'leave' in as acidic as a voice she could muster.

Ichigo, of course, did not leave. When she came back out some twenty minutes later the two had not moved an inch, did not look to want to move, seemed to be locked in some sort of ridiculous staring contests which Rukia was not surprised in the least to see Ichigo participating in, but which her brother's participation through her off guard. She wasn't sure she should interrupt; she couldn't physically haul Ichigo out the door while her brother watched her. A Kuchiki was better than that … but her brother was a skilled martial artists and she was not sure she wanted to see Ichigo, broken on her floor, so early in the morning … he wasn't a wholly unpleasant presence.

"Rukia," said Byakuya, suddenly, "this … boy … will be joining us for breakfast." Ichigo looked as dumbfounded as Rukia felt. "Meet us downstairs in ten minutes, boy," said Byakuya, the air around him full of ice, and then he turned heel, his scarf fluttering behind him, and strode out the front door.

Rukia, confused and unsure, scrambled to the door and then turned quickly to Ichigo.

"You don't –" she began, but Ichigo flashed her a smirk like he knew and didn't care.

"See you downstairs," he said. Rukia opened and closed her mouth several times and then breathed heavily through her nose, resigned to hell.

"Lock my door behind you," she said, dejected but with fire in her eyes, like she might personally break his knee caps if he didn't, and then she left him standing there, to catch up with her brother, and Ichigo felt oddly enthralled and on edge and also as though Byakuya might have murdered him, had there been just a bit more time.

* * *

 _The second chapter no one asked for! I have one more chapter for this, which I'll probably post on Friday, even though this was (and still is) mostly just about the first chapter and nothing from this point on can be deemed either good or important. I just ... I really wanted to add Byakuya, at first I thought it'd be kind of funny to make Byakuya the person Ichigo thought Rukia might be dating but ... well, shit changes when you go from a concept to writing. So, obviously, that didn't last._

 _Anyway, if you enjoyed please review~!_


	3. Chapter 3

**Birds of a Feather**

* * *

"So, Ichigo," says Hisana Kuchiki, smiling politely over her breakfast plate. Byakuya is sitting beside her, his face void of any emotion.

Hisana reminds Ichigo a bit of his mother, uncommonly kind, and Ichigo wonders, not for the first time since meeting the two nearly an hour ago, how such an odd couple could exist. But then, his parents had loved each other, and his father is intolerable on good days.

"Do you have any siblings?" says Hisana.

"Yeah," replies Ichigo, "I've got two sisters ... They're twins."

"I didn't know that," says Rukia, at his side, looking at him differently than she has before, quizzical.

"You've met them," says Ichigo, taking a bite from his eggs, "you and my sister, Yuzu, made a shelter for a cat once when it was raining."

Rukia's brows knit as is she's trying to recall and then suddenly her mouth drops and she's staring at Ichigo as if he's grown a second head.

"You mean the girl with the short brown hair?" she sputters, "but she was so ... Sweet." Ichigo smirks down at her, turns back to Hisana.

"The other is named Karin, they're both in college."

"How nice," Hisana smiles, "I'm sure they're both lovely!"

Ichigo is thinking about Karin's signature kick to the head, how Yuzu is a conspirator in all of his father's worst plans, how they both drop by unannounced and demand they go play laser tag on any given week night. Ichigo is thinking about how he only tells his sisters about his day, only wants to speak to Yuzu when he's sad, can't get Karin to do anything, and he smiles at it all.

"They're ... Definitely something," he says elusively, but with fondness.

The rest of breakfast passes by more normal than not, which is a feat for Ichigo, whose entire life can be summed up in abnormality. This does not stop him from noticing the ridged set of Rukia's shoulders beside him or how she only speaks when spoken to.

When Hisana starts coughing Byakuya puts a hand on her shoulder, gives her a concerned look and then says to the table:

"I believe it's time we wrap up."

Rukia nods once and stands, bowing to them both.

"It was great to see you," she smiles.

Hisana suddenly looks very frail, but this does not stop her from hugging Rukia closely.

"We'll see you next week!" She declares, and then, "will you be okay walking home?" and Rukia nods again. Byakuya hands her her coat and moved to lay cash on the table, but Ichigo has manners instilled in him by his mother's kindness and his father's ... kicks to the head, so he stops Byakuya.

"I've got it," he says, smirking. Whatever Byakuya might be tempted to say, Hisana stops him with a smile.

"Call me later, Rukia," she says, and bids them both fair well.

When they're gone Rukia sits back down at the table and takes a sip from her coffee.

"One more round?" Asks Ichigo, which Rukia seconds, and he calls the waitress for another cup for each of them.

For blistering minutes the silence is maddening, the truly awkward kind Ichigo has had in Rukia's presence. It's clear she's thinking deeply about something and Ichigo is curious.

"Care to share?" He asks. She gives him a look over the top of her mug, grabs a grape from his nearly vacant plate.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she declares, and pops it into her mouth.

Ichigo's not overly familiar with Rukia but she's got the same eyes as Yuzu when his sister is concerned but doesn't want to show it, and on normal days he might not prod, but he's been dragged around by her family all morning so he's feeling kind of prod-y.

"Don't play stupid, Rukia, it doesn't suit you. What's up?"

For a moment Rukia is pensive and eerily quiet, presumably deciding what she should tell him or how much of it. Finally, she settles, and says:

"I'm a little jealous."

And this confuses Ichigo more than the silence, he rolls his hand, a sign to continue, his brows furrowed.

"Of your relationship with your sisters," she says.

"You and Hisana seem pretty close," replies Ichigo, the knit in his brows deepening.

Rukia supposes it looks that way; and in truth, Hisana has for the last 5 years been vehemently trying to heal the scars of Rukia's childhood, but somethings come slow, even for Rukia, who wants nothing more than to forgive her sister.

And still, It's hard to forgive a sister who, at 16, made the conscious decision to abandon her. And Rukia has worked all the angles, can imagine the fear and the confusion of being so young and taking care of a baby. But Rukia had found her marry band of misfits and had never once thought to desert them, even the small ones who ate but couldn't steal, who were too kind and too innocent. Rukia loves Hisana, loves her and is so remarkably bitter towards her and the man she married.

"I suppose we are," says Rukia after a time and she smiles for affect but her heart stings and she is grateful that Ichigo is nearly a stranger, or else she worries he'd see. "You should have let me brother get the tab," she says by way of distraction, "he's pretty wealthy." And she smirks when Ichigo's face falls.

* * *

 _Not a satisfying ending, but I think this is where this one ends ... May move forward with it in the future but for now I think we're leaving these two in a good place to let the mind wander, and I'm good with that if you are. :')_

 _I hope you've enjoyed, please feel free to leave a review!_


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